in this episode, Jared sits down with Alexander Brose, President & CEO of the Royal Conservatory of Music in Toronto, Canada, to trace his remarkable journey learning Chinese and how it shaped his life and career in unexpected ways.

From his early years living in South Korea with his family, to choosing Mandarin over Cantonese at an international school in Hong Kong, Alex shares how Chinese gradually became part of his identity. He continued studying the language through high school and later majored in Asian Studies at Cornell University. A pivotal summer in Harbin with the CET immersion program further deepened both his language skills and cultural connection to China.

Alex’s path led him to build cross-cultural musical collaborations between China and the U.S., eventually becoming the founding Executive Director of the Tianjin Juilliard School. He reflects on how speaking Chinese created unique professional opportunities, opened doors to deep cultural understanding, and enabled him to be at the forefront of classical music education in China.

Throughout the episode, Alex offers thoughtful reflections on the value of immersion, the challenges of maintaining language confidence, and the power of music as a bridge between cultures.

Links from the episode:

• Alexander Brose | Royal Conservatory of Music (Canada)

• Mandarin Companion Graded Readers

• CET Academic Programs

• From Mao to Mozart: Isaac Stern in China | IMDB

Is handwriting Chinese characters slowing you down? In today’s digital world, does it still make sense to focus on writing by hand or should you just type? In this episode, Jared and John dive deep into this hot-button issue for Chinese learners: handwriting vs. typing.

Pulling insights from a research paper by Chinese Breeze creator Chengzhi Chu (储诚志), they explore how character instruction is evolving and why prioritizing typing can make your learning faster, more efficient, and less frustrating, especially for adult learners.

They’ll break down:

• Why typing Chinese is not “cheating”, it’s how Chinese is actually used today

• How handwriting can become a bottleneck to fluency and motivation

• What it really means to “know” a character in the modern era

• The myth of muscle memory and why stroke order perfection isn’t essential

• Why it’s okay to treat handwriting as a hobby, not a core skill

You’ll also hear how character writing has changed more in the past 20 years than the previous 2000, the "three eras" of Chinese writing, and how modern teachers are shifting to a “typing-first, handwriting-second” approach in classrooms around the world.

If you’ve ever felt overwhelmed by handwriting or wondered if you’re “doing it wrong” by typing, this episode will give you the clarity, and permission, you need to move forward confidently.

Links from the episode:

• The Evolution of Hanzi Proficiency and the E-Writing Transformation of L2 Chinese Teaching in the Digital Age | Paper by Chengzhi Chu

• Mandarin Companion Graded Readers

• Learn Chinese Characters by Reading (the book)

• Learn Chinese Characters by Reading (free resources for 200 characters)

What began as a teenage crush became a lifelong journey into Chinese for Matthew McGuire, an Australian creator and accent coach. In this episode, Jared sits down with Matthew to discuss how he learned Mandarin without textbooks, grammar drills, or writing practice. Instead, he immersed himself in love dramas, shadowed dialogue, and built a Chinese-speaking social circle. Matthew shares how his curiosity and enjoyment guided him from impressing a girl from Sichuan to achieving real proficiency and forming meaningful friendships. He also explains how Chinese opened doors for him both personally and professionally, and why he believes language learning should be fun, intentional, and grounded in real-life use. For anyone feeling stuck in their studies or unsure of how to move forward, Matthew’s story offers valuable perspective and inspiration.

Links from the episode:

• Matthew McGuire on Instagram | @realozziemcguire

• Chinese graded readers make an excellent gift! Head over to: https://www.mandarincompanion.com

• AllSet Learning has some amazing deals on lessons right now: https://www.allsetlearning.com